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LIÈGE-BASTOGNE-LIÈGE

La Redoute to become decisive once more?

In 1999, Franck Vandenbroucke and Michele Bartoli’s sprint up the steepest parts of the Côte de La Redoute climb went down in the history of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège race. Nevertheless, that spectacular mano-a-mano had not been the decisive moment of the day. It was much further on, in the final parts of the Côte de Saint-Nicolas that Vandenbroucke broke away definitively. After crossing the finish line, the lad from Ploegsteert explained to Le Soir magazine that he could not have afforded a pursuit after La Redoute “with three Rabobank and four Mapei in the chase group”.

Since 1992, the Côte de Saint-Nicolas has generally been the climb on which the best could make the most of their advantage. However, the Italians’ anticipation of this steep ascent has often had an overall sedative effect on the riders up until the last ten kilometers of “The Old Lady” – as the race is sometimes affectionately called.

Four-time winner Alejandro Valverde, who has become an icon of the race in recent years, has never arrived at Jean Jaurès Street in Ans alone. His strategy for winning the race has been identical each time: to sprint at the top of the very trying but rolling Ans incline.

For this year’s edition, however, the duo of Christian Prudhomme and Thierry Gouvenou are looking to give one of the oldest cycling races in the world a bit of a facelift. This Sunday, the finish line will once again be drawn in the center of Liège, on flat ground. The new course brings the mythical La Redoute closer to the end of the race, with a new final three obstacle line-up drawn up as follows: La Redoute (37 km from the finish line), Côte des Forges(25 km from the finish line), and Roche-aux-Faucons (15 km from the finish line).

As he unveiled his revamped course route to the press, Prudhomme explained that he wished to make the end of the race “more exciting. We are hoping for more movement. We also think these modifications expand the pool of potential winners. Having said that, we are convinced that the Liège-Bastogne-Liège with its copious inclines will still go to the best climber-puncher of the bunch.”